Healthcare products that contain one or more biologically active compounds which appear in nature are well known. The present invention relates to one or more biologically active compounds which can be derived from a part (for example, the root) of a variety (cultivar) of a species of the genus Juglans L., which is a member of the plant family known as Juglandaceae (also referred to as the “walnut family”). The genus Juglans L. contains over ten species, including, for example, Juglans ailanthifolia Carr. (Japanese walnut P), Juglans boliviana (C. DC.), Dode (Bolivian walnut P), Juglans californica S. Wats. (Southern California walnut P), Juglans cinerea L. (butternut P), and Juglans neotropica Diels (Andean walnut P).
Another of the species of the genus Juglans L. is Juglans regia L., referred to herein as “J. regia L.” There are numerous varieties of walnut trees which are members of the species J. regia L., for example, walnut trees grown in various geographical areas throughout the world, including, for example, in North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. A source of the biologically active material of the present invention includes parts of selected varieties, as described below, of the walnut species J. regia L.